On Sunday, 13th October, we celebrated the conclusion of our 6-month fundraising campaign which began all the way back in April, with a lovely evening together in which we were joined by many very special friends and with some fantastic offerings.  The whole evening was recorded, and we will be sharing some of the highlights in the coming week for those who missed out or would like to watch again,  especially the very special “Fourfold Towers” skit from our monastic friends!

We have received an amazing response to this campaign from all quarters: within this country and outside of it; from old friends who have been pillars of our community for decades, and from new friends who have only been on a Plum Village retreat for the first time this year. 

Tens of thousands are now aware of the Being Peace project who had never heard of it before, and well over a thousand donations have been made in these past 6 months, from 37 countries.  The total funding available for the project has now risen to more than £2.7m, and there have also been more than £500k in pledged legacies. Many ongoing conversations with friends considering additional support to the project continue, as we all look to give the Being Peace Centre the most favourable birth possible.  

So, if we consider this campaign as asking the community whether the vision for Being Peace as described on our website is truly possible – we can say that the answer is a very clear Yes!  We are now well and truly on our way with an incredible network to support the next steps.

The next chapter

Thanks to all of your support, we now have the solid platform we need to approach our property search with confidence.  Our property team has been looking at options throughout the campaign, and in each case they look carefully at how to weigh up the different criteria we have previously shared for finding the best possible home for Being Peace.  

Many of you have expressed to us your belief that – when there is a specific property that can be the focus of our campaign – this will mobilise further support, and we also believe this to be true.  We are committed to finding the best option we can, within the resources available to us, and as soon as we identify something that we believe could be the right home for Plum Village in the UK, we look forward to sharing this with you.

We also hold the support that you are offering to this project with a deep reverence: resources to be used wisely; commitments that can be taken on safely and responsibly; and a vision that is beautiful as well as grounded in practical reality, supported with the skills and expertise needed for this centre to blossom as a sustainable source of benefit for generations to come.

So, today is a day to celebrate this journey so far, to thank you all for your incredible support, and to say that we look forward to keeping in touch in the coming weeks and months as we move forwards into this next chapter together. If you’d like to keep up-to-date with the project please sign up to our newsletter here.

Your friends in the Being Peace Project Team